Martin Gayford is an Art Critic for The Spectator and writer of publications on David Hockney, Antony Gormley and extra. He joins the expert judges panel for Jackson’s Portray Prize 2023 and in this article, he shares his exhibition highlights of the past year and suggestions to people contemplating about entering the levels of competition this year.
Previously mentioned impression: Webpages from Really like Lucian: The Letters of Lucian Freud 1939–1954, 2022 by Martin Gayford and David Dawson
Could you notify us a little bit about your self and your function?
Martin: I’m a author, primarily about art. In excess of the a long time I’ve been an artwork critic for a number of publications like the Day-to-day Telegraph, Sunday Telegraph and Spectator. Amid my textbooks are biographic will work about Van Gogh, Michelangelo and Constable. I have composed frequently on David Hockney (which includes two works co-penned with him) and Lucian Freud. Shaping the Planet: Sculpture from Prehistory to Now (2020) was a collaboration with Antony Gormley. Spring Cannot Be Cancelled, co-penned with David Hockney, appeared in 2021. My most modern book is Really like Lucian (2022), a collection of Lucian Freud’s early correspondence, co-edited with David Dawson. I’ve sat for portraits by both Hockney and Lucian Freud.
What have been your exhibition highlights of 2022? Who are the artists or artworks you were most motivated by this earlier year?
Martin: Well, for me 2022 was a 12 months in which I invested a great deal of time organising exhibitions of which I was component of the curatorial team including Hockney’s Eye at the Fitzwilliam Museum and Downing University, Cambridge and Lucian Freud: The Painter and his Relatives at the Freud Museum, London. Normally I was significantly struck by the Freud display at the Countrywide Gallery, Relatives Relations at Gagosian, and a quantity of displays at the Venice Biennale.
How critical do you believe awards and competitions are for artists these days?
Martin: Perfectly, they are unquestionably element of the video game, but art is not the exact same as activity – and it is significant to don’t forget that the very best individual does not always get.
What will you be hunting for in the entries submitted to the competitiveness this 12 months?
Martin: Originality, visible sensitivity and pizazz.
Do you have any assistance for artists out there contemplating about moving into Jackson’s Painting Prize this yr?
Martin: The most vital tips for any artist (or author) is to continue to keep at it.